Deadlock

So I haven't written about a game in a minute, and it's because I've been playing a lot of Deadlock This is much to the chagrin of many of my friend. They, like me, have a reasonable and very understandable disdain for MOBAs. Too competitive, too toxic, too complicated, too time consuming. Being a "league player" is a pejorative, not something that most people would want to aspire to. For a long time I'd ardently refused to even try any game in the genre1. So why did I end up sitting down to give this one a try? IT'S ABOUT CHARACTER There's not a character design in this game that I don't think is interesting. Even in this early alpha stage they all sing, if not visually2 than in concept and in their voice over. The map itself breathes charm. Whether it be the countless in-universe ads scattered across the world's billboards and in the subway stations. The shifts in design language as players move from the more chaotic and vibrant graffiti and loudspeakers of the hidden king area of…